The Glass House in Pomona hosted some old school U.K. and Southern California Punk Rock legends, headlined by Scottish punk band The Exploited on June 5. Joining the party was Total Massacre, Final Conflict, and D.I. and a packed hall of fans ready to mosh, sing, and fight the establishment.

Punk Rock has always been rooted in anti-establishment, anti-fascism, and anti-racism, and punk communities have long been safe spaces for marginalized communities and the oppressed. The garage bands of angsty youth in the late 60's and early 70's moved into the spotlight when The Ramones released their eponymous first album in 1974 and Punk Rock was officially born, and grew quickly in the neighborhoods of New York and Los Angeles and in the UK.

It's from these beginnings that bands like The Exploited (Scotland, 1979), D.I. (Fullerton, 1981), Final Conflict (Long Beach, 1983), and Los Angeles based Total Massacre continue to build upon to this day.

The Punk scene has progressed through variations, like Pop punk, and more modern hardcore, and post-punk genres. While Pop punk tends to lean more to the emo side of the fence, Punk and modern punk share a lot of commonalities. Old School Punk was very "Fuck you!" and modern punk is more "We're Fucked!" The genre still rails against misuse of power and the struggle of the oppressed.

First up on the agenda was Total Massacre, founded in Los Angeles, and self described anti-fascist, anti-racist, and anti-capitalist with songs that serve as a rallying cry to the listener to reflect on the world around them and combat inequality. They also tackle themes like mental health, and the struggle of surviving capitalism.

Second on the bill was Final Conflict, founded in Long Beach, and still with original founding guitarist Jeff Harp. Final Conflict raged against police brutality, the injustices of war, and proudly proclaimed their anti-racist and anti-homophobe stance, and front man Ron Martinez reminded the audience that they didn't have to agree with their views to listen to their music, "but it certainly helps."

The final opener was D.I. which some say stood for "Drug Ideology", but according to the band it was never really meant to serve as an acronym for anything. Fronted by founding member and vocalist Casey Royer, who was originally the drummer for Social Distortion. Throughout the years, the band members may have changed, but the style and message has largely stayed the same, and that energy and drive, and the high-energy performance by Royer got the Glass House crowd riled up and ready for the main set from The Exploited.

The headliner of the night was the Scottish punk band The Exploited. Self described "Riot starting, bouncer bashing, cop baiting, hotel trashing, foul talking, noise making, chaos causing, venue wrecking, government hating, rule breaking, piss taking, unrelenting, punk rocking" The Exploited lived up to all those monikers as they railed against the system, said a hardy "Fuck You!" to Israel's continued genocide, and unapologetically reminded the crowd how relevant they have remained since their first album in 1980.

The show never lost a bit of energy with a mosh circle in the crowd, young kids on their dad's shoulders, and mom's in the front row, and mohawks all around.

The Glass House, which opened in 1996, is a nationally recognized "proving ground" for emerging bands to take the stage and hone their performing skills. Nestled into the historic and artsy downtown Pomona, they have shows several times a week ranging several different genres. Parking is plentiful, and there are several options nearby for pre-show food and beverages, and the venue features a 21+ cocktail lounge and you can take your drink back in to watch the show.